Newbie. My quick story

Hi,

Started my quest to “be fit by 40”, in May 2010; my 38th Birthday. I was a pack-a-day+ smoker, 40+% body fat, borderline diabetic & blood test results were all completely opposite of were they should have been.

My initial goal in my two-year journey was to quit smoking. I've been successful, smoke free since Day 1 -- 13 months now after 25 years. I've gotten 2 clean chest x-rays and kudos from the doc. Maybe I dogged a bullet.

Now I told myself, don't worry about your weight for at least the first 90 days. You're going to gain weight while quitting smoking. So I didn't worry and I gained 17lbs. (up to 225 lbs) in 4 months. (I felt like crap; except I could breathe a lot better, smell and taste)

My second (ongoing) goal, was the diabetes and blood, the diabetes thing scared me. Doc said 30 minutes of exercise a day and sent me to a Dietician. I don't do anything half-ass'd usually. So I crushed it for 3 months, probably averaging 10 hours/week at the gym. Followed the dietician's advice, counted calories, weigh'd food, etc. (High carb, low fat, moderate protein FDA "approved" diet)

I lost 22lbs. (203 lbs) Got tested again in Dec. and all of my blood tests were in "normal" ranges. Doc was amazed at the turnaround. Said to keep doing what I was doing...

Actually it wasn't the Holidays that got me but it was the beginning of this year that I slipped, fell or just jumped off the bandwagon. Maybe it was the sigh of relief after my latest blood results, maybe burnout, or perhaps it really was that I just got really busy w/ work and kids.

Needless to say time for my structured workouts at the gym were infringed upon. If I couldn't do my whole workout, I didn't want to go. Eventually the diet went in the toilet too!

I actually hovered around 208 (only up 5 lbs & my original pre-quitting smoking weight) until late March, then all of sudden in the span of two weeks I gained 8 lbs. (216 lbs). I was kind of crushed to see the scale back up in that area when I had been so close to getting under 200 for the first time in awhile and at the least being at my pre-quit weight after that long and so much work.

After boo-hoo'ing for a couple weeks. I changed gyms and recommitted to working out at least 30 minutes/5 days a week. This was May 1. Once I hit mid-May, my 39th birthday & the halfway point of my quest to “be fit by 40” I've really recommitted but also realize I can't be a perfectionist and I have to leave time for a life so I don't burn out.

6 weeks or so back into it now, I feel like I'm getting the right amount of exercise. 30-60 minutes/4-5x week at the gym, I ride my bike (casually) a lot now to do errands, light hiking, yoga, scuba diving, going surfing for a couple weeks soon, etc.

My diet has been good, not great but I feel good enough that I should be seeing some scale movement by now. I'm not, it's just hovering around 212.

What I'm doing diet wise, isn't working. I read an article with a quote from Grant Hill on how fit he is at his age and doing the things he does in the NBA (along with Steve Nash) and it was something like, "If it wasn't around 50,000 years ago, I don't eat it". I guess with that and other information in the back of my head -- today I stumbled upon a link to this site in a Sport's article, read a bit and bought the book on my iPad. Having only read a few pages, I'm excited.

Were would I like to be at 40? In the low 150s, middle teens of body fat % would be Awesome! haven't seen those numbers since I got out of boot camp 20 years ago. But if I lost around 50 more lbs. I'd be stoked. I have about 11 months to go...

Update: P.S. Forgot to mention I'm 5' 5" (In order to be in single digit body fat %, I'd have to be in the high 130s to low 140s most likely that's what I was when I was 18-19. Not really my goal, probably because it seems so far fetched, but as a reference. All literature says my ideal weight is mid 140s.)

You and I have a lot in common, aside from my being a chick. Details. I'm a former smoker, about to turn 40 in October. I, too, have been warned about diabetes. Just had my freaking 25 year HS reunion. And everyone else was so fat, it made me feel like a fashion model. Until the scale hit 163#. When you're 5'2" and your perfect weight is around 120#, seeing the scale hit that high is kind of like a punch in the gut. And I've never connected the dots before, but I first started gaining weight when I quit smoking and started filling the void with ice cream.

When I started Primal, I'd already been going to the gym for about 3 months. But I had no clue about what I was doing there. I was just going and trying different stuff, but nothing 'stuck'. Too cheap to hire a trainer, I trolled the internet for advice. I happened upon one of Mark's training videos on YouTube, and, long story short, here I am.

It may cheer you to know that I lost 5 pounds in 3 months on Atkins and the gym, but I've lost another 20 pounds since mid-March, when I started Primal Blueprint. Yeah, 5 pounds in the first 3 months, then 20 pounds in the 3 months after switching to this program. READ the Fitness book, follow his suggestions on balancing strength, cardio and sprints. I feel like that has been the key for me. This program works, if you work the program. I'm eating better than I ever have, I don't spend 20 years in the gym every day (which is hard to conceive of when you view time from a linear, subjective viewpoint, but never mind that now), and I have more energy than when I was in college.

You can do this, and it sounds like you're the kind of person with the determination to make the changes this will require. I look forward to seeing your after pics on the success threads!

Motherhood: When changing from pj pants to yoga pants qualifies as 'getting dressed'.

I design websites and blogs for a living. If you would like a blog or website designed by someone who understands Primal, see my web page.

Primal Blueprint Explorer My blog for people who are not into the Grok thing. Since starting the blog, I have moved close to being Archevore instead of Primal. But Mark's Daily Apple is still the best source of information about living an ancestral lifestyle.

Too much cardio! The stress could be causing you to hold onto weight. Your body reflects what you eat far better than what you do with it. The recommended cardio for low-stress weight loss which worked for me is 20 minutes three to four times a week. Just enough to stimulate muscle development and remind my body to keep going. But I also walk all day at work, which was also part of my weight loss/strength gain plan. I've dropped from 210 to 176 going Primal with my eating. I don't adhere to the fitness program mainly because I speed walk all day long. But I do lift very heavy things and sprint once a week.

Whatever you do next, I am so impressed you quit smoking! Good work, man.

wow,quite an Interesting story that you shared with all of us.I am here to say hello to all of you people.I am Joesoph currently completing my studies.My degree is realted to the accountancy and I want to become Finance Manager or General Manager of a recognized Financial Institution.Every one has his own define goals in life but my goal is some what differnt from others.Regarding my health,I am a fatty guy and recently joined the Gym to lose weight.I wolild love to do skating,chatting and Jamming.I am a new member of this forum and I don't know what you people think but I really find this site very useful for gaining plenty of Information.

Too much cardio! The stress could be causing you to hold onto weight. Your body reflects what you eat far better than what you do with it. The recommended cardio for low-stress weight loss which worked for me is 20 minutes three to four times a week. Just enough to stimulate muscle development and remind my body to keep going. But I also walk all day at work, which was also part of my weight loss/strength gain plan. I've dropped from 210 to 176 going Primal with my eating. I don't adhere to the fitness program mainly because I speed walk all day long. But I do lift very heavy things and sprint once a week.

Whatever you do next, I am so impressed you quit smoking! Good work, man.

Thanks, I realize that now (just got the book a couple hours previous to my original post, hadn't got that far yet). It also isn't all cardio, there are 2 days of strength training in there. Cardio sessions were 30 minutes 3-4x/week. I expect I'll follow the PB Workout recommendations once I read some more and figure out what will work. I sit at a desk all day unfortunately.

Looks like we are entering or midlife crisis! I smoked since i was 16 years until i was 32, at the end i was smoking 1 or 2 packs of cigarretes. I also packed a lot of fat, i married weighting 160 pounds 10 years ago, and in january first this year i was 196. The primal blueprint diet worked great for me, in the last month i lost 7 pounds, and my body fat is 17%. Welcome! I am doing a light p90x (just 1 round in the workouts, instead od 2), with walking twice a week and hicking on sundays.
Good luck!

Glad I'm not alone in the "just-about-to-turn-40" category. I started working out last October (when I turned 39) and after a couple of months I quit because I wasn't seeing any results. A co-worker had told me that he would help get me started on a fitness program. After mulling it over for a few months, I decided to take him up on it. Turns out he teaches CrossFit and he is the one who sent me this link and told me to read about the Paleo Diet. Well I'm hooked! I've lost 26 lbs since March 8th! I've also gone from size 16 to size 8! I have muscles and energy!!!! Everyone thinks it is so complicated, but I disagree. Grocery shopping is so much easier now. I don't have to count any calories (been there, done that). I work out M-F at the gym at work (20-25 min of cardio & sit-ups, push-ups, squats, etc). I don't really do anything that is specifically exercise on weekends. I play and do yard work and household chores (now that I have the energy).